At least seven officers under investigation over bets on general election timing, say Metropolitan police – live | General election 2024
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- June 27, 2024
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Metropolitan police says at least 7 officers now under investigation over election timing bets
The number of Metropolitan police officers under investigation over bets on the timing of the general election has risen to at least seven, the force has said.
On Tuesday the Met said six officers were being investigated – of whom one was the close protection officer who was arrested. The other five, who were not close protection officers, had not been arrested, but were being investigated by the Gambling Commission, it said.
Key events
‘We’re not pitching new Netflix series’ – Labour defends running predictable campaign
Jasper Jolly
Labour’s shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has said the party wants to run a government, not a Netflix series, as he defended the party’s decision to run a relatively surprise-free election campaign.
Reynolds said Labour’s offer of stability and predictable policy would be valuable for businesses, in a speech today to industry leaders at the British Chambers of Commerce.
Labour has retained a formidable poll lead over the Conservatives, but has also rowed back on some of its more ambitious proposals -notably on green investment. That has led to some activists complaining the party has not been radical enough.
Unlike the Conservatives, Labour has also largely avoided making surprise policy announcements. Mostly it has focused on promoting policies agreed and announced well before the campaign started.
This has prompted some political pundits to describe the campaign as boring.
But Reynolds said:
I’m told by some commentators, they don’t think Labour’s campaign is exciting enough. Look, my friends, we’re not pitching you a new Netflix series, you know, we’re not putting on politics as entertainment.
We want a return to serious government, to effective policy, and to politics of public service, not as pantomime.
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, is speaking at a rally in Durham. There is a live feed here.
Starmer says election date betting scandal shows why UK needs ‘reset for politics’
Last night the Metropolitan police said that, although the Gambling Commission was investigating most of the suspect election date bets, it was involved in cases where the offending could go beyond the Gambling Act to include offences such as misconduct in public office. The Met has also said seven of its officers are now being investigated.
This morning Keir Starmer said this showed why Rishi Sunak should have acted earlier. He said:
This latest development highlights 1) how serious this is, 2) that the prime minister should have acted swiftly at the beginning and showed leadership rather than being bullied into taking action, and 3) the wider choice that is now there at the election between carrying on with this sort of behaviour – we’ve seen far too much of this sort of bending the rules – we’ve got to stop that, turn the page and usher in a reset for politics and for our country.
Rishi Sunak is speaking at an election event in Derbyshire, and he is restating is claim that a vote for Labour would be a “blank cheque” because Keir Starmer is not saying what he would do in government. He says Starmer has “no answers” on immigration, and Labour won’t match the Tory pledge to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP. He says Labour “will whack up your taxes”.
The Economist has published a leader endorsing Labour – for the first time since 2005. A magazine that calls itself a newspaper, there is a similar contradiction in the fact that it is committed to free-market liberal economics, and globalisation, and it is backing Keir Starmer even though he is not over-keen on either of those. But the election is a choice, it says. It explains:
You would never know it from a low-wattage campaign but after 14 years of Conservative rule, Britain is on the threshold of a Labour victory so sweeping that it may break records. No party fully subscribes to the ideas that The Economist holds dear. The economic consensus in Britain has shifted away from liberal values – free trade, individual choice and limits to state intervention. But elections are about the best available choice and that is clear. If we had a vote on July 4th, we, too, would pick Labour, because it has the greatest chance of tackling the biggest problem that Britain faces: a chronic and debilitating lack of economic growth.
Gambling Commission says it’s making ‘rapid progress’ with election bets probe as Met confirms 7 officers being investigated
Seven officers have been identified as having placed bets on the timing of the general election, the Metropolitan police said today.
Britain biggest police force said it will continue to investigate a “small number” of wagers.
Andrew Rhodes, chief executive of the Gambling Commission, said:
We are focused on an investigation into confidential information being used to gain an unfair advantage when betting on the date of the general election.
Our enforcement team has made rapid progress so far and will continue to work closely with the Metropolitan police to draw this case to a just conclusion.
We understand the desire for information, however, to protect the integrity of the investigation and to ensure a fair and just outcome, we are unable to comment further at this time, including the name of any person who may be under suspicion.
Det Supt Katherine Goodwin, who is leading the Met investigation, said:
We have agreed a joint approach with the Gambling Commission, who are the appropriate authority to investigate the majority of these allegations.
There will, however, be a small number of cases where a broader criminal investigation by the police is required.
We will aim to provide updates at key points as our investigation progresses.
One officer, a PC attached to the Royalty and Specialist Protection Command, has been bailed after being arrested on Monday 17 June on suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office.
And this is from Chris Bryant, the Labour candidate and shadow minister, on the Conservative party’s “surrender” ad attack against Labour.
You didn’t stay for the D-Day commemoration. You didn’t turn up for the votes on Owen Paterson or Boris Johnson. You were beaten by Liz Truss. Half of your candidates have given up. And now you talk of surrender? https://t.co/WyPqvBu32u
— Chris Bryant (@RhonddaBryant) June 27, 2024
You didn’t stay for the D-Day commemoration. You didn’t turn up for the votes on Owen Paterson or Boris Johnson. You were beaten by Liz Truss. Half of your candidates have given up. And now you talk of surrender?
Metropolitan police says at least 7 officers now under investigation over election timing bets
The number of Metropolitan police officers under investigation over bets on the timing of the general election has risen to at least seven, the force has said.
On Tuesday the Met said six officers were being investigated – of whom one was the close protection officer who was arrested. The other five, who were not close protection officers, had not been arrested, but were being investigated by the Gambling Commission, it said.
Brendan Cox, whose wife, Jo, was murdered by a rightwing terrorist during the Brexit referendum, has condemned the Conservatives for their “Don’t surrender your families future to Labour” advert. (See 11.17am.)
Sunak criticised after escalating claim that voting Labour would amount to ‘surrender’
According to the BBC transcript, Rishi Sunak used the word “surrender” 17 times during last night’s debate. Mostly it was in connection to borders and tax policy. Here are some examples.
I don’t think that people should surrender their family finances to the Labour party
Keir Starmer and the Labour party are not being straight with you. So do not surrender to their tax rises.
Do not surrender our welfare system to the Labour party and Keir Starmer.
If Labour win, the people smugglers are going to need a bigger boat. Don’t surrender our borders to the Labour party.
Do not surrender your local councils and our finances to them.
When pensioners are paying tax for the first time, that’s the change that is coming, so don’t surrender to that, because your families are going to pay the price.
Today, in an advert on social media, Sunak has returned to the theme.
The slogan “Don’t surrender your family’s future to Labour” could be seen as either sinister, or silly (or perhaps both). The picture in this advert presents Labour as an invading army, terrorising families at gunpoint. Presumably Rishi Sunak does not really think of the opposition like this, and so it is just a metaphor – exaggerated, for effect. But it seems intended to resonate with people of a certain generation whose mental furniture has not moved on much since 1945.
The slogan also recalls Boris Johnson’s decision to label the bill intended to rule out a no-deal Brexit as a “Surrender Act”, which was provocative because it demonised remain-voting MPs at a time when some of them were getting death threats.
Some political figures have condemned Sunak’s use of the slogan.
This is from Alastair Campbell, the podcaster and former Labour communications chief.
Another day another propaganda triumph for Sunak as the right wing papers unite to proclaim the latest attack line on Labour, NO SURRENDER (Ian Paisley Sr RIP!) As predicted on @RestIsPolitics – this was the line Sunak wanted to land. Anyone would think that Central Office…
— ALASTAIR CAMPBELL (@campbellclaret) June 27, 2024
Another day another propaganda triumph for Sunak as the right wing papers unite to proclaim the latest attack line on Labour, NO SURRENDER (Ian Paisley Sr RIP!) As predicted on @RestIsPolitics – this was the line Sunak wanted to land. Anyone would think that Central Office dictated headlines ahead of the debate to save editors having to have judgement of their own. For a somewhat more balanced judgement if you missed our post-debate podcast live last night (which had more than double the viewers @TheSun had for their live YouTube leaders’ debate,) here it is
This is from Andrew Fisher, who was head of policy for Jeremy Corbyn when he was Labour leader.
Sunak using deeply inflammatory language on migration: “surrender”, “soft touch of Europe”
France takes more refugees than us, as does Germany, Spain & Italy.
Maybe we should do more to stop creating refugees by bombing their countries & selling arms to dictators#BBCdebate
— Andrew Fisher (@FisherAndrew79) June 26, 2024
Sunak using deeply inflammatory language on migration: “surrender”, “soft touch of Europe”
France takes more refugees than us, as does Germany, Spain & Italy.
Maybe we should do more to stop creating refugees by bombing their countries & selling arms to dictators
And this is from the Lib Dem peer Sarah Ludford.
Sunak’s warning to voters not to ‘surrender’ to a Labour victory was shoddy, at least.
No doubt trying to echo Churchill.
But he said we would not surrender to the Nazis. Starmer, whatever one’s view of him, is not Hitler.— Sarah Ludford 🇬🇧 🇮🇪🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@SarahLudford) June 27, 2024
Sunak’s warning to voters not to ‘surrender’ to a Labour victory was shoddy, at least.
No doubt trying to echo Churchill.
But he said we would not surrender to the Nazis. Starmer, whatever one’s view of him, is not Hitler
Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, has seen her popularity rise notably during the election campaign, according to polling by JL Partners for the Rest is Politics podcast.
RISE OF REEVES: Rachel Reeves has now joined Keir Starmer as one of two positively rated politicians in the UK.
In the latest @restispolitics @JLPartnersPolls, she has moved from a net rating of minus 8 to plus 1. She is also the most popular Labour figure with 2019 Tories. pic.twitter.com/e6zagoi1AB
— James Johnson (@jamesjohnson252) June 27, 2024
RISE OF REEVES: Rachel Reeves has now joined Keir Starmer as one of two positively rated politicians in the UK.
In the latest @restispolitics @JLPartnersPolls, she has moved from a net rating of minus 8 to plus 1. She is also the most popular Labour figure with 2019 Tories.
In an interview with Times Radio Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, insisted that Labour would protect single-sex spaces for women.
In the debate last night Rishi Sunak claimed Labour could not do this, because it is not backing his plan to amend the Equality Act to make it clear that, when the legislation refers to sex, it means biological sex. (See 7am.) There have been court rulings saying trans women can be included within the definition too, and the matter may have to be resolved by the supreme court. Keir Starmer argued that the legislation already protected women’s spaces.
Asked about this on Times Radio, Phillipson said:
I do believe in the importance of single-sex provision for women. So that, for example, when accessing women’s refuge provision, they’re confident that it’s a single sex space.
And a Labour government will make sure that we maintain that single sex exemption that already exists within the Equality Act. But to give clarity to service providers, we’ll make sure that they know that they can enforce single sex provision on the basis of biological sex.
Asked if that meant a trans woman would be allowed in a women’s refuge, Phillipson said:
It means that service providers are able to, under the Equality Act, maintain single sex provision for biological women. I do think alongside that we can deliver appropriate care and support for trans people, but that would be done on a different basis, maintaining single sex provision for biological women.
Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, has joined a picket line at St Thomas’ Hospital in Westminster to show his support for the junior doctors who are on strike.
The Economist has become the latest organisation to publish an MRP poll suggesting the Tories are on course for a near wipe-out. Its MRP, which it has carried out with WeThink, suggests Labour is on course to win 465 of the 632 seats in England, Scotland, Wales, the Tories are heading for 76 seats, the Lib Dems 52 seats, and the Greens and Reform UK thee each. This would give Labour a majority of 280.
This chart from the Economist’s report shows what the polling suggests has happened to the Conservative party’s 2019 vote.
But being scrupulous about data, the Economist does not accept this polling as the final word. It also has its own election prediction model, which incorporates the results of conventional polling, and other MRP polls. It too predicts a huge Labour majority, but not such a colossal one. “Its central estimate is that Labour will have 429 mps, the Conservatives 117, the Liberal Democrats 42 seats, the SNP 23 and Reform UK 2,” the Economist says.
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